I am a technical woman
Mar. 28th, 2011 09:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
soniaThis video from the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology made me cry and cry. I feel so mismatched to the world so much of the time, puzzled, lost, adrift. I hadn't realized that being a technical woman was part of that.
Perhaps it still stings not to have found a home in the technical world. Perhaps I can still find a part-time technical job which will feed this part of me (and financially feed all of me). The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing is in Portland this Fall. I'm thinking about attending. I like the diversity in their poster, too.
My only complaint about the video is that almost all the women smile intensely as they speak. Their joy is delightful, and also seems a little placating. "See, we're technical, and we're still nice. Don't feel threatened."
Perhaps it still stings not to have found a home in the technical world. Perhaps I can still find a part-time technical job which will feed this part of me (and financially feed all of me). The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing is in Portland this Fall. I'm thinking about attending. I like the diversity in their poster, too.
My only complaint about the video is that almost all the women smile intensely as they speak. Their joy is delightful, and also seems a little placating. "See, we're technical, and we're still nice. Don't feel threatened."
no subject
Date: 2011-03-31 01:21 am (UTC)I've been lucky enough to work and study at places with several technical women. I know we're out there! That's one of the reasons my reaction surprised me.
I don't think of technical men as fragile, but some of them sure do need to prove they're better. Then again, many non-technical men seem to have that need too.
I think the smiles are also about "See, I can still perform my gender 'correctly', even while being technical."